The truth was that Sabrina wasn’t sure how to approach Bonnie while still looking like a competent sixteen year old witch. She wanted to show the older woman that her time would not be wasted and that she was a sterling example of what it meant to be a witch set on being a better witch. So she did the only thing she could think of … she asked herself what she’d do if it were Aunt Zelda.
With her hair brushed and conservatively affixed, Salem dozing at her feet, she waited for Bonnie with two cups of tea spelled to be piping hot even though she’d arrived and ordered 15 minutes early. There was a notebook, a chewed pen and a bound length of sage sitting next to her coffee.
Looking down at Salem, she smiled. “You’ve been calmer here than you ever were in Greendale.”
Bonnie wasn’t a teacher, but she’d been around magic for a long time now and if she could help a younger witch learn to control her powers, that’s what she wanted to do. She didn’t know a lot about Sabrina’s world or her magic, but she’d worked with a some different kinds of magic, even in her own world, and she’d seen a lot more of it here in Atlantis. Even if there magic was a little different, she thought she could help Sabrina and that was why she was here.
Spotting the younger witch, she joined her at the table and offered her a warm smile. “You must be Sabrina,” she said as she sat down. They’d spoken on the network, but this was their first formal in-person introduction. “I’m Bonnie.”
“Hi Bonnie!” It was weird because the air seemed to crackle around Bonnie but Sabrina, looking around, seemed to be the only one who was at all aware of it. She assumed the other witch was powerful. But this seemed to seal her deal. Of course, Sabrina had done her research and she knew that like her, Bonnie had channeled hellfire and saved her town. She smiled brightly.
“I hope you like tea?”
Atlantis wasn’t Mystic Falls, but it did have it’s own kind of magic. Sometimes that interacted with hers in weird ways and things didn’t come off exactly the way she’d planned. She didn’t have the kind of connection to her ancestors here that she did at home and she was still learning to adapt to Atlantis being Atlantis, but Bonnie was still a powerful witch. She was also one who’d had plenty of experience in learning to control her own power and finding a way to use it for good.
“Tea is good,” she assured Sabrina, smiling back at the young witch.
“ … good. Because something was telling me caramel macchiato, but I thought tea was the better choice.” She scooted to the edge of her seat and leaned forward, that veneer of civility beginning to crack with the fair amount of excitement building in her chest.
“So how do we do this? What’s the curriculum?”
Bonnie hesitated, because the truth was she didn’t know. She wasn’t a teacher, she’d never formally taught a young witch before and this seemed different from occasionally doing magic with Caroline’s twins. She honestly didn’t really know where to start.
“I think we start with what do you want to learn?” she said after a beat.
“I want to learn how I can dial up and dial down the power,” was an eager and an immediate response. “The thing is, I haven’t really experimented with the higher end of what I can do.” Well, beyond the hellfire, the necromancy, the exorcism. But Bonnie didn’t need to hear all of that yet.
“For example: could I change the weather on a certain street and then spread out to change the weather over the entire island. Or, could I make everyone hear the audio from The Shining in their mind all day? Or just a select number of COS agents?”
Those were all questions Bonnie didn’t immediately know the answer to, but she nodded her head and offered Sabrina an encouraging smile. “Then I think we start small and work on your control first. The more control you have, the better you can narrow or expand your focus, depending on what you’re trying to do.”
She could already sense that Sabrina had a lot of power. Helping her learn to control that power seemed like a good place to start.
“ … yes, I like that. Concentrating power is going to be hard because I usually let it go?” She could still smell the sulfurous hellfire if she thought hard enough. “I really appreciate it, Bonnie.” Then, randomly …
“What’s your favourite kind of brownie or cookie?”
The question surprised Bonnie, but she quickly recovered with a smile. “Double Chocolate Chip,” she answered. “If you’re not going to load them up with chocolate, what is even the point?” She didn’t mind veering off topic - this wasn’t meant to be a really formal thing, after all.
Sabrina concentrated, cupping her hands in front of her on the table, chanting beneath her breath. Within a moment, she had managed to conjure just such a brownie (and on a sweet little plate). When she looked up, she offered Bonnie a crooked smile.
“That’s brownie number one. I’ll make you the next batch.”
Grinning, Bonnie picked it up and took a small bite. The brownie was actually edible, which was pretty damn cool. She couldn’t say she’d ever conjured a sweet treat before. “Not bad, Spellman,” she said once she’d swallowed the first bite.
Sabrina grinned. “It’s a date, then. Thank you so much for being willing to eat magic brownies and … help me out.” With people like Ambrose and Bonnie - with friends like Josie - she knew that Atlantis would not only be fun, but also be instructive. She might even be able to help.
“I have to go for now! The lattes are calling.”
“Until next time, then,” Bonnie said, grinning at Sabrina as she offered her a mock salute with her tea cup. This teaching thing was new to her, but she thought it might just be kind of fun.